The present invention relates to a method and a device for cooling a stream of gaseous fluid such as air. It also relates to a method for cooling articles using the above method for cooling a stream of gaseous fluid.
A stream of gaseous fluid is conventionally cooled by contacting this stream with a colder cooling surface. This cooling surface is defined by an element that must itself be cooled. For example, a cooling fluid other than the gaseous fluid to be cooled can be used for the purpose, in the case of cooling by means of a heat exchanger. In consequence, this cooling mode has the drawback of presenting a certain inertia. In particular, during startup, it cannot be used to go, in a relatively short time, from a situation in which the flow of gaseous fluid is not cooled, to a stabilized and operational operating regime in which the stream of gaseous fluid is cooled to the desired temperature.
It has also been described in the art how to cool a stream of gaseous fluid by the injection of a cooling fluid into the stream (reference can be made to documents FR-1 349 403, U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,073 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,243).
It is therefore at least one object of the invention, which aims to improve the cooling efficiencies obtained by the techniques of the prior art, to increase the rate at which the temperature of a stream of cooled gaseous fluid can be modified.